Pneumatic-tire core



F. PAuLsEN.

- v v PNEUMATIC TIRE com. APPLICATION FILED MARZI. |920- vRENEW-ED JAN-3. 1921.

rAraNT OFFICE.

FREDERICK PLULSEN, OF KANSAS CTY, MISSOURI.

PNEUMATIG-TIRE CORE.

Application filed March To LEZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that Fnacmusic nULsnN, a citizen of thel United States ofAmerica, and resident of Kansas City, in the county of Jackson, State ofMissouri, have inventeffl a certain new and useful'improvement inPneumatic-Tire Cores, of which the -iollowin is a completespecii'ication.

gThis invention relatesr to pneumatic tire cores, and has for its objectto produce a hollow tire core provided with( onelor more passages forestablishing communication between the interior of the mold and heaterpress, to give steam accesstoa the interior of the core for internalcuring or vulcanizing action on the tire.

' A' further object is to produce a resilient core which when inclosedin a casing and compressed in a mold shall eiiect uniform stretching totensioning of the casing and thereby insurev contact between the Aentirejuxtaposed vsuriaces of` the fabric' layers of the casing andl theavoidance of wrin- 'klingor buckling destructive of longevity inanytire. f 4

kllV'th these and other objects in view, the invention consists certain.novel and useful features .of construction and `combinations `of parts"as hereinafter ldescribed and claimed; andin'order that itniay be fullyunderstood reference is to. be had to the accompanying drawing, inwhicliz` Y f Figurefi isra crosssection off-ila tire core embed ng theinvention, v`the ligure also showing the mold and the casing interposedbetween they core andl'mold;l

. Fig. 2' is vacentral circumferential section fof 'a fragment 'of `theAconstruction disclosed by Fig. 1, the section beingtalrenon the lineIll-Hof Figui; r

Fig. 3- isy a perspective, vieivo'l"V a tragment of a ring'hereinafterreferred to; and `liigfl is a fragmentary perspective view of areinforoementofthe core'.

1 Referring to `the drawing indetail.,` l indicates a pneumatictirebasing, the same being composedfas usual of pieces offabric securedtogether inlayers, and rubber superimposed on the fabric and of greatestthickness at the central fortread portionof thevcasing.

A resilient core kof'rnetal by preference, suchas spring steel," isofformto fit. snugly in thetirelcasing an'ds of substantially horseshoeshape in cross section 4and proyvidedzat 1 the. inner edges. ofvitsside. walls Specification of Letters Patent.

2, 1920, Serial No. 362,790. Renewed January 3, 1921. Serial No.434,844.

with inwardly projecting side flanges 3.

These flanges are formed with external outf wardlyfacing shoulders lproduced preferably by means oi' rings secured to the outer sides of theflanges by screw bolts 5.

To produce one or more ports establishing communication with theinterior of the core` a pair of rings 6 are secured flatly against theinner sides of the flanges 3 by means of the said bolts 5, and one orboth of said rings is or are provided with a groove or channel 7extending from the inner edge or edges of the rings to the outer edge oredges thereof, this groove or channel constituting a port formaintaining communication with the interior of the core when the latterhas been compressed until the vrings 6 are pressed tightly together. InFig. 2, segmental metal plates 6a take the place of the rings 6, and arespaced apart at their ends to provide the ports 7n corresponding toport7', and in this case to guard against pivotal shifting of the plates 6a,they are perforated to receive `pins 8 projecting. inwardly from theflanges 3. In effect, the. flanges. 3, the rings et and the rings 6 orplates 6a, constitute a single piece, softhat it can be said that thefiangesof the 'core are provided with a port or ports leading into theinterior of the Vcore andI are also provided with external outwardlyfacing shoulders constituted by the outer edgesof rings t.

Within the outer portion of the core is a reinforcing ring `9 the samebeing of radius somewhat less than the interior ot the-core when thesame is in normal condition so as to leave between the sides of thereinforcenient or reinforcing member 9 and the core, outwardly Vtaperingand convergingl spaces as shown clearly in Fig. l. lVhen the coreV iscollapsed preliminary to the `vulcanizing ofthe tire as hereinafterreferred to, the outer halt of the core lits flatly and squarely againstthe outer or curved surface of said member 9, and4 in order that steammay have access to substantially the entire innersurface of the corewhen collapsed, said member 9, is provided with intersecting transverseand circumferential grooves 10 and 1l respectively, as shown mostclearly by Fig. 4. i

The reinforcing member is preferably in the form of a split ring havinga socket 12 at one end and a tenon '1.3 at the other for member in iixedposition tothe core, screw of the construction `shown or of any othersuitableV type; The mold shown comprises two members and 16 respectivelygrooved at 17 and 18 to accommodate the type of tire casing. TheV moldmembers are also recessed inV their inner edges at 19 to accommodate therings 4L constituting the external shoulders of the flanges of the core.Outward of the casing the members of the mold are grooved as at 2O toaccommodate excess rubber during the vulcanizing operation, and theouter portions of the coresV have a tongue and grooved relation as at 21and 22 so that the mold members shall be moved in undeviating line whencompressed to effect the collapse of the core until the walls thereoftightly embrace thereinforcement 9 and the rings 6 come flatly togetheras hereinbefore explained. In thls compression action Y the movementinwardly of the opposite side sharply bent as where they fulcrum on theCIL walls of the core, tends to lengthen the transverse circumferentialextent of the tire with the result suggested in applicants patent issuedJune 11th, 1918, No. 1,269,500, ac-

complishingsuch object more eiiciently however, in that the walls of thecore are not so opposite side margins or corners of the reinforcingmember, as is true on the patent above referred to. With the core incollapsed condition the curing` or vulcanizing process is performedwithin a heaterpress or the' like in the usual or any preferred manner,it being-understood that the steam which cures the exterior portion ofthe tire through the mold member, also obtains access to the interior ofthe core and then by way of the intersecting' grooves in thereinforcement 9,

c 'so that'the entire surface of the core may be uniformly heated fromthe inside thereof and thus cure the casing from the inside as well asthe outside. This facilitates the uni- 'form curing operation from bothwithin and without the casing and hence reduces the cost of theoperation and guards against overcurin y of the outer portion and theresult is a much stronger and more durable tire. i

From the vaboveV description taken in con-` nection withV the drawing,it is believed that the invention will be fully understood and that itis apparent that the invention embodies the features of advantage setforth as advantageous and desirable, and that modi- `adapted to beclosed necesa? fications may be resorted to without departing from thespirit and scope of the appended claims or departing from the principleof construction involved.

1. A circular tire core of hollow resilient material, for fittingtightly in a tire casing, anda reinforcing member within the core andsecured to the tread portion thereof; said member conformingsubstantially to the contour of the core but of smaller crossl:sectional radius than the inner side thereof Y tightly compressed uponthe groovedl face of the said member.

. 3. A circular tire core of hollow resilient material, for fittingsnugly in a tire casing, and a reinforcing member within the core andsecured to the tread portion thereof and conforming substantially to theVcontourofY the core but of smaller cross sectionalradius than the innerside thereof-to normally provideoutwardly converging and tapering spaces,between it and the core; said reinforcp ing member having intersectingcross'` and circumferential grooves in its outer face,`the cross groovesextending through the inner face of the member to receive steamintroduced within the -core when the same is tightly compressed upon thegrooved face of said member. p

4. A hollow resilient tire core of substantially horseshoe form incross. section, and adapted for lateral compression to close the spacebetween the edgesof its side walls, and provided with a port leading tothe interior ofthe core when compressed.

Y A hollow resilient tire core of circular form and provided at theinner edges of its walls with inwardly projecting flanges adaptedto beclosed together; said: flanges being formed with a port for establishingcommunication with the interior of the core.

6. A hollow resilient tire core of circular form and provided at theinner edges of its iio sidewalls with inwardly projecting flangestogether; saidflanges being formed with a port for establishingcommunication with the interior of the core and with outwardly facingexternal shoulders. Y

7 AV hollow resilient tire core .of circular forni and provided at theinner edges of its side walls with inwardly projecting flanges adaptedto be closed together; said anges being formed with a port forestablishing communication with the interior of the core and withoutwardly facing external shoulder, and a niold comprising two membersiitting against and inclosing a tire casing itted snugly on the core,and provided with recesses receiving the shouldered portion of saidfianges and with circular ribs fitting against the outer faces of saidflanges between the shoulders thereof and the inner edges of the tirecasing.

8. A hollow resilient tire core of circular ilorin and provided at theinner edges of its side walls with inwardly projecting flanges adaptedto be closed together; said anges having reinforcing rings secured totheir inner faces and provided conjointly with a port establishingcommunication with the interior of the core.

9. A hollow resilient tire core of circular forni and provided at theinner edges of its side walls with inwardly projecting vflanges adaptedto be closed together; said flanges having reinforcing rings secured totheir inner faces and provided conjointly with a port establishingcommunication with the interior of the core, and rings secured to theouter faces of the said flanges and forining outwardly disposedshoulders.

in witness whereof I hereto affix my signature.

FREDERICK PAULSEN.

